


Fix Tomorrow

by dizzy



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: CrissColfer Big Bang, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-07
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-04-30 12:25:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5163770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzy/pseuds/dizzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris is single, broke, and crashing on his friend Lauren’s couch. </p><p>Darren has way too much money, good intentions, and no idea what he’s doing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fix Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to Mav for the [lovely manips](http://savvymavvy.tumblr.com/post/132757266909/i-got-to-do-the-art-for-alittledizzys-fic-fix) and Luckie for being basically the best beta ever!

Chris moves out on a Tuesday. 

It's two full weeks after he found out that Jackson was cheating on him. Two weeks of fighting and crying and talking it out. He stayed for _two weeks_ , and as he tapes the last box shut he can't figure out why. All he really did was drag it out for himself. 

But he'd waited. Two weeks of hoping Jackson would come up with some reason for Chris to forgive him that was plausible enough. Two weeks of sleeping in bed beside a man who suddenly felt like a stranger. Two weeks of going through the same motions he has for the last two years but feeling like every step grew emptier and emptier. 

"You sure you're okay?" Lauren asks. She's not so much helping him pack as she is supervising while sitting cross-legged on the counter with his cat in her lap. "Because you seem not so okay." 

"I just broke up with my boyfriend of four years." Chris rolls his eyes at her. "I'm peachy keen." 

"Well, if you say so." She smiles brightly at him and then hops down, lowering Brian to the floor. "Wowee is he freaked out by this." 

"I know." Chris sighs. "Coop is, too. He doesn't understand why all my stuff is suddenly gone. He pissed on a suitcase yesterday... Jackson's, luckily." 

Even mentioning the dog makes him want to throw up. He's already said goodbye, crying harder than he had after he and Jackson had sex for the last time the night before. 

"Cee-rizzle." Lauren frowns sympathetically at him. She feels guilty, Chris knows, even though it isn't her fault her lease doesn't allow for dogs. "You'll get him back." 

When Chris broke it to Jackson, he actually thought it was a great thing, like it made it easier. "You take the cat, I take the dog. That worked out well." 

Jackson and Brian never really got along. They had a truce that involved ignoring each other or, at most, Jackson dumping food into Brian's bowl if Chris was away for work or on a book tour. 

"Maybe," Chris says, because he can't think about it. He can't think about it or he'll break down and he _can't_ do that. 

Chris is putting most of his things in storage and taking up residence on Lauren's couch until he can figure out what sort of place is in his budget. He doesn't make a lot of money off his writing, but that hasn't really mattered. 

Jackson was the one that encouraged him to quit his office job. Jackson told him follow his passion and the rest would work out. It did, when they were a two income home. 

He can't help but think Jackson has to know how broke Chris will be, but pride won't allow Chris to have that conversation. It feels like a fitting punishment, really. Before Jackson, he'd treasured his independence and sworn he'd never be so reliant on another person. 

What a fucking joke that is now. Four years of a life he has to pack up into as many boxes as he can fit in his car. He's almost surprised by how little there is he even wants to take, though. The pictures on the walls hold memories Chris doesn't want. The gifts given to them mutually, the purchases made together. 

He puts the personal family photos into a box. He can't handle all those spaces of his life Jackson so firmly embedded himself into. He'll go through them later, when he has a place of his own, and find the ones from family events the past few years that Jackson isn't in. Hopefully there are a few. 

Hannah loved Jackson. Chris hasn't even told her. It's been two weeks and hasn't told anyone but Lauren. Their mutual friends have to know, because Jackson loves to talk. None of them have even called Chris to ask how he's doing. Maybe they weren't really mutual friends anyway. 

*

He crashes as soon as he gets to Lauren's apartment. It makes him an awful house guest and he doesn't mean to but he hasn't been able to fucking sleep in that bed they bought together, that bed they slept in together for years. 

Jackson probably fucked someone else in that bed, and that was the thought that kept Chris awake at night more than anything. 

Of course, Jackson hadn't had any trouble sleeping. 

Lauren's in bed by the time Chris wakes back up. There's a sandwich on a plate in front of him and a pissed off cat who won't eat or drink because the food and water aren’t in the normal bowls he uses. 

"I know, bud," Chris says, sitting on the floor. He stares at the piles of boxes all around him. It's not even like he can unpack, really. There's nowhere to put anything. 

Still, he tries. He gets out what he can. Lauren's giving up a desk for him so he unloads the box he swept his old writing space clear into and cobbles it back together in the small cramped apartment corner. 

It's not the same at all, but it'll do. He saved a lot of space by leaving behind the picture frames that used to make him smile when his eyes would wander over to them while he wrote. 

He manages to waste a night on the internet, and by the time Lauren leaves for work in the morning he's just managed to fall asleep. 

* 

He lasts three weeks barely leaving Lauren's place before she sits him down for a sternly worded talking to. 

"I am not actually kicking you out," she starts. "Not really." 

"Oh god." He buries his face in his hands. 

"I'm just initiating some house rules." She actually pulls out a large poster board, rolled up and tied with a ribbon so she can undo it with the appropriate flourishing gesture. "Number one: each of us are required to spend a minimum of three hours a day, at least five days a week, outside of the house, without each other. You may divide the days up in any way of your choosing. Number two: shower every other day. No exceptions. Number three: litter box must be changed every third day. No exceptions. Number four: I am not your mother, but I will call her if you don't start eating. You're losing your muscle tone and the whole twink skinny look is so played out. You're not twenty anymore, bub. Number five-" 

"Stop." Chris stands up, heart hammering in his chest. He feels slightly sick, but is that really any different from how he's felt for the past month? "So what I gather from this is that you're sick of me, I smell, I'm not taking care of my pet or myself?" 

She meets his stare head on. "Basically. And I hate seeing you do this to yourself. Number five: love yourself again. Because I do, and seeing you like this makes me sad." 

Chris sighs. "Fine. You win." 

She grins and bounces over to hug him. "I always win. Now shower and get out of here." 

*

Over the next week Chris becomes familiar with every coffee shop and local park within walking distance of Lauren's apartment. He takes his laptop on days he's feeling particularly ambitious, but nothing seems to really jog the words loose from his tired mind. 

His publisher wants updates. His last book came out six months ago, to average if not exceptional reception. With a good enough pitch, he can get another deal. 

But right now he just has nothing. 

He's walking down the street on one of his mandatory three hour outings when he stops in front of a building with no curtains on the windows or signs on the door. 

He stops because there's an awful yowling coming from inside. He hasn't heard such a pained wail since Jackson accidentally slammed Brian's tail in the door and they'd had to coax him out from under the bed to make sure he was all right. 

Chris pushes the door open on instinct, sure he'll walk in on some snot nosed teenage torturing an innocent animal. 

Instead he sees a man cornered by a half-grown orange and white tabby with raised hackles. The man has both hands up in a surrender gesture and he looks terrified of the kitten. 

Chris's sudden burst of laughter is enough to startle the cat and the man. The cat approaches Chris like he expects Chris to cower, but Chris just kneels and holds a hand out. The cat hisses but when Chris doesn't move after another moment it creeps in for a sniff. He must pass the test, because the cat butts his head against Chris's fingertips for a pet. 

"So..." Chris scratches the cat behind the ears and studies the man. "This ferocious thing have you trapped?" 

"Don't even fucking joke," the guy says. His voice is stuffy and his eyes are watering. "I thought I was never gonna get out of here. Little dude apparently knows how to undo his crate." 

"Well, let me help you out with that." Chris scoops the kitten up and looks around. "Where is his crate?" 

"In the back with the others." The guy blows his nose into a wad of napkins and then shoves them in his pocket. "I'm Darren, by the way. I'd shake your hand but-" 

"Please no," Chris quickly says. 

"Well, I also shouldn't touch that." Darren points at the cat. "I am so crazy fucking allergic it's ridiculous. Sir Cuddlewumpus nearly incapacitated me with the power of his dander alone."

"Sir..." Chris shakes his head and decides it's not worth asking. He follows Darren through a doorway and down a narrow hall to a bigger, open space. The room is lined with large metal enclosures stacked two high. One hangs open, and when Darren points that's where Chris dumps the now suddenly unhappy again kitten. "Sorry, little guy." 

Chris gives him another pet on the head before shutting the crate and making sure the latch is actually closed. 

"I swear he opened it," Darren says again. 

Chris looks dubiously at the metal slide bar. "Sure." 

"Or maybe I guess it's possible I forgot." Darren shrugs sheepishly. "Which is probably not a mistake I can afford to make often. Unless you want to volunteer to be my professional feline wrangler." 

"What does it pay?" Chris asks, offhand - until he realizes the guy is actually thinking about it. 

"We got this place for cheaper than we budgeted for rent... I mean, are you seriously looking for a job?" 

Chris thinks about the two lonely digits in his bank account right now, and that call he's been putting off making. He thinks about how he doesn't even really have anything worth hocking at a pawn shop and how he can't just eat Lauren's food indefinitely. "I might be." 

"I can probably go fifteen bucks an hour, part time?" Darren says. "I don't know how benefits work. I'd have to talk to the money guy for that..." 

"I don't - wait, I don't even know what this is. Do you secretly harvest cats for the black cat meat market or something?" Chris asks. 

Darren laughs - and narrows his eyes suspiciously. "No, and I think if that's the kind of place you are looking to work at, I'm gonna need you to move away from the crates..." 

"Hey, I wasn't-" He realizes Darren is actually just fucking with him. "Seriously, what is it?"

"It's an animal shelter. Or a least, it will be. We don't officially open our doors until next week. That's why the lobby isn't even ready yet. But one of the kill shelters we're helping alleviate the burden on had the dates wrong and if we didn't take these guys asap they were all getting... well... I don't want to say it in front of fragile ears. But, you know." 

Chris winces slightly as Darren mimes an injection into his own arm. "Yeah, I get it, okay." 

"We were gonna put up an ad and have interviews next week, but. You know." Darren waves a hand around. "I guess we kind of need someone sooner than that. I can't-" 

He has to stop the last sentence to sneeze. 

"Clearly you can't." 

"Even if you don't want a job, seriously, I'll give you a hundred bucks just to stay and help me feed them and get the collars on today." 

A hundred bucks. He could appease Lauren with a load of groceries. "Fine," he says, apparently surprising them both. 

Darren tosses him the keys. "Food is in those tubs, collars are in the box on the counter. I'm gonna... go be not here." 

"Hey, wait-" Chris frowns. "How do I know you're actually gonna pay me?" 

Darren has to wipe his eyes again before reaching into his wallet. He thumbs through the bills there and pulls out a few twenties, shoving them in Chris's direction. "Seriously, about to die here." 

Chris pockets them. "Now how do you know I won't just take off with your money?" 

"I don't," Darren says, grinning as he backs out of the room. "But I like to have faith in people." 

* 

Alone in the building Chris actually does think briefly about just leaving. It's not that he'd abandon the animals, but the either situation is surreal almost the point of being untrustworthy.

But a dozen hungry kitten faces wear him down in really no time at all. He spends the next hour and a half feeding the kittens then, once they have full bellies and are a little less frantic from hunger, wrangling the collars onto them. 

Darren still isn't back by the time Chris is finished. He thinks about leaving again, because he's done what Darren asked. But Darren didn't give him the full hundred yet, and Chris is still curious to see what happens when Darren comes back. 

He goes back to some of the more docile ones, the two kittens that barely look old enough to be weaned, the fat white one with one cloudy eye, the one that cowers but looks like it so desperately wants to be friends. He takes them out one by one and sits on the floor with them, indulging in something that ends up being just as therapeutic for him as it probably is for them. 

Darren does eventually come back. He teeters his way in with bags hanging off each arm and four boxes stacked high enough in front of him to disrupt his vision and balance. "Help?" He squeaks, the boxes almost falling. 

Chris gets the fat white cat he's been scratching back into his crate and grabs the top two, grunting in surprise at how heavy they are. "What is this?" 

"Cat food," Darren says, putting the two other boxes down. His eyes look clearer and his voice sounds better. He starts to unload the bags, too. Chris winces at the deep marks they've left on his arms. "I dosed up on the good meds and then hit the pet store. We were seriously fucking unprepared for these guys. I don't even know how long this stuff will last. Or if there's stuff I forgot... we have files on everyone from the shelter and some of them have medication but I haven't looked at them yet. I just... shit. There's so much to do." 

Darren sounds overwhelmed

"No offense, but are you sure you need to be opening one of these if you are that unprepared?" Chris gives him a dubious look. "Do you even know what goes into opening one? Or are you just throwing a bunch of animals into a room?" 

Darren's affronted response is, "Of course I know what goes into it. It's just a lot different in actuality than it is on paper."

"But you do have, like, permits..." 

"Of course, man. We have the nonprofit and the commercial insurance and all the stuff to actually get this place going will be delivered in the next week. But I was supposed to have someone who actually knew what the fuck they were doing to help me with the day to day operations by then." Darren sighs and looks at him. "You don't happen to have five to ten years of animal-oriented nonprofit experience, do you?" 

"Afraid not," Chris says. "But if your first offer stands... I am pretty sure I can still do a better job at this than you." 

"It does," Darren immediately responds. "Totally. I'll take any help I can get right now." 

* 

Chris walks into the apartment two hours later. His arms are laden with grocery bags and for the first time in a while, there's a smile on his face. 

Lauren pounces on him immediately with an, "I was worried! That was way longer than three hours!" 

Laughing, Chris hugs her back. "I got a job." 

"No way!" She shrieks right in his ear, jumping up and wrapping her whole self around him. He sways a little but she jumps back down with ease. "I didn't even know you were looking for one!" 

"I wasn't," Chris says, putting the bags down in her kitchen. "It just sort of... happened. It doesn't pay much, but it'll be something." 

"So what are you doing?" She turns from him to start rooting through the bags, finding the gluten free pizza right away and shouting in triumph as she holds it over her head like a trophy. "Dinner!" 

Chris laughs. "Yes, dinner. And - there's this guy."

"Oh no," Lauren says, words at odds with her delighted tone. 

"Not like that." Chris corrects her. "He's opening an animal shelter. Even though he is, apparently, highly allergic to animals. Cats, at least. Maybe he's fine with dogs." 

"Is he cute?" Lauren asks. 

Chris thinks back to puffy eyes and a red nose. "Looked like a mess when I saw him." 

Maybe he wasn't so bad the second time, but Chris doesn't want to encourage Lauren's train of thought. 

"Your actual job is going to be to work with cute fuzzy kitties and puppies." Suddenly, Lauren looks stricken. "I'm ethically obligated to hate you forever. You will be paid to cuddle cute fuzzy kitties and puppies." 

"Probably more like paid to pick up dog shit and get scratched while trying to bathe cats, but sure, okay," Chris says, shrugging. 

Brian rubs against his ankles, as if finally deciding to acknowledge Chris's arrival. He hasn't really recovered from the move yet, spending most of his time sleeping away in hidden spots and looking out the window. Lauren calls him an emo kitty. Chris just worries. 

He's pretty sure that Brian is looking for Cooper around every corner. Chris knows he is. He's almost glad he doesn't have a real bed to sleep in, because it would hit home even more without the warmth at his feet as he falls asleep and that big dumb puppy breath in his face in the morning. 

"This is awesome," Lauren says, shoving half a stick of string cheese into her mouth and chewing contentedly. "Seriously, Chris. I think this is a sign. Things are looking up in Colferville." 

*

Chris shows up to the shelter at nine the next morning. Darren's already there, a desk and chair set up where there was just an empty space yesterday. There's a box that looks to be full of office supplies, a computer, and an iPad on a swivel stand where he would have expected a register to go. 

"Hey!" Darren smiles brightly at him. "I was just setting your work space up. You can let me know what else we need to order; this is probably the basics. Or half the basics, with a lot of probably important shit I forgot still missing. But I got the computer and the iPad set up. Well, I didn't. My buddy Corey did, he's kind of my go-to tech wiz. I dropped the equipment off at his place last night and picked it up this morning and, bam, software installed, works like a dream." 

"I'm sure it does." 

"Hopefully you can work with it?" Darren says. 

"I'm sure it won't be a problem," Chris says, though internally he's wondering if it will be a problem - if he can do this or not. The last time he had a job out of the house was close to five years ago and the dry cleaners he'd been working at when he met Jackson definitely didn't come with iPads. Or even a computer. 

Fake it 'til you make it, right? He sits in the chair that Darren vacates and surveys his new domain. 

"Sweet," Darren says, almost under his breath. He watches Chris like he's waiting, expectant. 

"So what exactly do you want me to do?" Chris finally asks. "Today. I don't want to... overstep." 

"Oh-" Darren sounds jarred by the question. "Okay, um - right now the main thing I can't do is deal with the cats. I have an appointment with my allergist but the earliest he could fit me in was next week. I'm okay like, out here, but the minute I step past that door - boom, it all falls apart." 

"So feed them, litter boxes..." Chris trails off. "Do you want me to start organizing the records? You mentioned software..." 

"Yeah, that'd be awesome. We only got hard copies of their information from the other shelter." Darren's phone buzzes and he looks at it. "I have an appointment with our accountant in an hour, and with a potential sponsor to cover part of the food costs at one. Will you be okay here alone?" 

"Do I get a lunch break?" Chris asks. 

"Yeah, totally, you can just lock up this place and go grab food." 

"... do you have a key for me?" 

Darren winces slightly. "Knew I forgot something. Okay, I'll head out early - I think there's a hardware store a few blocks over. I'll drop the key off this afternoon before I head to my thing at one." 

"That'll work," Chris says. 

"Just like, make a list throughout the day. Everything you come across that we need, just throw it on there. Some stuff is already on order - in fact, you may get a couple of deliveries today - but I don't have time to go over the invoices." 

"No problem," Chris says, relieved that he's going to be left alone again. He's definitely out of his depth; but at least he'll have some time to figure out what the hell he's doing without someone judging him. 

*

Once Darren's gone, Chris starts to work with the cats. There are twelve of them in all and he sets out on a routine: distract with food and water so they're eating while he takes the small litter pans out and dumps them. There are two massive tubs of litter and the trays don't look like they've been changed in days, so he doesn't bother scooping. He just dumps them out completely and starts over fresh. He'll be economical later, when the place doesn't smell quite so strongly of ammonia and cat shit. 

The two little kittens are rambunctious, chattering at him with little mewls. He decides they'll be easy enough to catch so he lets them down to play and get some of their energy out while he keeps the routine up with the others. 

When he's finished and all the cats are fed and watered and have clean accommodations, he settles back at the desk with the stack of paperwork. Darren's nemesis from the day before, Sir Cuddlewumpus, is at the top of the pile. There is only one sheet of paper for each cat - a name, a photo, and a summary of what shots and medical procedures they've had done. Everything is a printout except for the names at the top. Those are scrawled in a different handwriting - the same handwriting Chris sees on the notes scrawled on the desk. 

Darren clearly named them all. Chris begins to laugh as he types each one of them in. 

He's almost in tears by the end, and once he's done inputting them all into the record keeping software he goes back into the room with the stack of notecards and carefully writes each name and sticks it in a plastic sleeve, attaching it to the right metal crate. 

"Sir Cuddlewumpus," he starts, smiling down at the bright eyed cat, and then repeats the names out loud to himself as he double checks to make sure each one is going on the right crate. "Princess Penelope. The Good King Puddinpop. FuzzieWuzzie and WuzzleFuzz, you little boogers."

The almost identical twin kittens mewl up at him and try to attack the name tag. He laughs and keeps going. 

"Captain Tightpants. Snuggleufagus. Cleo-cat-tra. Potato. Princess of Genovia. And oh, can't forget you, Cindy Clawford." 

The last cat, a long gray tabby with eyes that seem to cut through and past him, yawns as if that's her judgement cast. 

* 

Darren does drop the key off, but Chris ends up so wrapped up in the stuff he's doing and lists he's making that he doesn't actually remember to go get lunch. 

He can't recall the last time he's felt this energized just from having a project to do. His focus all narrows to a point and he actually feels like he's being productive and accomplishing something. 

That's definitely not a feeling he's gotten from writing, not in a while. Not since the break up... or, if he's being honest, probably the six months leading up to it. 

Two of Darren's deliveries do arrive. The first is a coffee table and the second is a large box of flea collars and flea and tick medicine. Chris takes the number and sizes of collars he needs for the cats they already have in out, then explores the rest of the building. There are three large rooms where animals can be housed, two smaller rooms that look like they'll be nice for potential adoption visits, one storage closet (where Chris leaves the box for now) and a kitchen. 

The back yard is sizeable, a row of kennels already set up so that half is shelter and half is open for a dog to lounge in the sun. 

He wonders how many animals Darren plans on actually taking in. Cats are small and they don't need as much room, but dogs - he'll be able to take a dozen large, at most, and that'll limit the number for smaller ones. 

That leads him down the path of curiosity. He's full of questions when Darren finally does show up, but Darren's meetings must not have gone well. Chris can't bring himself to ply the man with questions when he just looks like he needs a nap. 

“You look upbeat,” Chris comments. 

Darren carefully sits down on the floor and then sprawls, spread eagle on the ground. "That sucked ass." 

Chris snorts. "That the official term for it?"

"This guy wanted me to agree to only feed his cheap ass food in exchange for him giving us a fucking thirty percent discount. I did my fucking research, you know, I looked at how his brand actually stacks up and it's basically the bottom of the barrel. But I figured, you know - maybe he's a decent guy and just wants to throw some money at a non-profit. Then it basically turned into a pitch for him to try and get me to exclusively shovel my money at him." 

"I take it you said no?" 

"I said fuck no," Darren says. He lets out another staggering yawn, then sits up. "So you held down the fort okay. Gotta admit, I was terrified you just wouldn't be here when I got back." 

"You clearly don't know me at all if you think I could ever voluntarily walk away from a room full of kittens." 

Darren crosses his legs in front of him and leans forward, grinning at Chris. "Well, you're right, I don't know you at all. But I think I'm gonna enjoy changing that." 

* 

Within a week, the shelter begins to lose the abandoned house feel and look like an actual animal shelter. A couch, three chairs, and a coffee table are delivered to the main area. They get a coffee machine and a microwave for the kitchen, which Chris eagerly takes advantage of daily for tea and lunches packed at home (still in an attempt to accommodate his flagging bank account). 

"So does this place actually have a name?" Chris asks. They're both camped out in front of the large printer that arrived the day before. Chris spent the previous day making up an adoption form and now they're printing out stacks of them for the inevitable day when the shelter is open for the animals to actually be looked at and taken home. 

"Did my Mom put you up to asking that?" Darren laughs. "She's been on me all week to pick out a name and get the signs ordered."

Darren's mother hasn't actually been around, but he talks about her a lot so Chris can tell she must have a say in the decision making process. 

"What are the options?" He asks. 

"So, the one I came up with is Paws and Claws," Darren says. That's actually the only one on my whole list Mama went for. I thought I had some fucking awesome ones." 

"Such as?" 

"Breakfast at Kittney's." 

Chris laughs. "Okay, points for the pun, but it is a little feline-centric." 

"Ev-furr-y New Beginning." Darren hums afterward. 

It takes Chris about three seconds to catch on. "... comes from some other beginning's end?" 

Darren lets out a triumphant sound. "See! You got it!" 

"I mean, it might be a cute name as long as you only ever use it verbally..." 

"... which probably won't work, will it?" 

"Don't think so." Chris gives him a slightly sarcastic sympathetic little smile. "Sorry. What else?" 

"Do It Doggy Style?" 

"You cannot be serious with that one." 

"DC's Delectable Pussies and Bitches." 

"Crass and offensive, I see.”

"Well, my mom's suggestion was Forget Me Not." 

"... that one. That one. Definitely that one." Chris says. "It's simple, but sweet. And not vulgar." 

"Come on." Darren winks at him. "You laughed." 

"I mean, it's your money..." 

"Oh, fine. I'll go with Forget Me Not." Darren puts his stapler down, leaving Chris to finish the forms himself. "Actually, might as well stop fucking around and go order the damn signs now. But seriously, if I find out you're secretly keeping tabs on me for my mom, you're totally fired." 

* 

"You seem happier," Lauren says to Chris that night. 

Chris shrugs, looking down at his plate of veggie stir fry. "I don't know if happier is the right word. I am just distracted enough that I don't feel quite as bad." 

"So when do I get to meet the new squad?" She has her legs tucked under her and her hair pulled back from her face. 

"You mean the animals, right?" Chris lifts an eyebrow. "There really are no other employees." 

"Yeah, isn't that weird, actually? Shouldn't there be?" 

"There will be," Chris explains. "We get the first of the dogs in next week and we'll have someone by then. I write up the job listing yesterday and we're posting it tomorrow." 

"Quick turn around,” she comments. 

"Yeah, but he's paying well. I think we'll have a plenty big enough pool of applicants." Chris answers with his mind half on work, wondering if he actually should have asked Darren for a salary range to put in the job instead of stating that it was competitive, based on experience. Chris wrote the entire thing by looking up other job listings online and picking out the requirements he liked best. 

Darren proofed it, of course, and he seemed impressed - but Darren doesn't often criticize anything Chris does. Enthusiastically impressed is almost his default mode. He hasn't decided if he really just fits into this new job spectacularly well, or if Darren has too little backbone to focus on the flaws or weak spots. 

Lauren snorts. "I love that you've been working there a week and you're in charge of new hires!" 

"I doubt I'll be in charge," Chris says, slightly defensive. "I'm just doing the leg work. He'll do the interviews and stuff." 

Lauren does have a point, though. Chris feels thrilled on a personal level with the responsibility he's being given. He hadn't even realized how unchallenged he felt with writing as a main job, knowing Jackson would take care of the bills. 

He's not really sure what that means, but now he goes to sleep with his head full of things other than heartache and nostalgia and that's certainly an improvement. 

* 

Despite what he'd said to Lauren, Chris is definitely in charge of new hires. 

He almost questions Darren about it, but at the end of the day he decides that he really does like the way Darren doesn't seem to doubt his abilities at all. 

"I'm going to check out a couple of the shelters we'll be taking dogs from, so I'll be out most of the day today and tomorrow. If you can get people in for interviews by the end of the week, do it - just like, as fucking many as you want, whatever you feel is good. When you've got a short list of three or four we'll get them in next week and I'll meet with them," Darren says. 

He has a casual confidence about some things that makes Chris wonder about him. They haven't really had all that much time to actually talk, considering Darren's out most of the time and when he is there it's just to look over everything Chris needs him to authorize, pay for, or add to his purchase list. 

The few times the conversation has gotten personal, it was surface things - a discussion about music that stemmed from Darren walking in on Chris dancing while he fed the cats, Darren asking Chris about his childhood pets and confiding that he'd never had a single one himself, and small things like food preferences, what drinks to stock in the fridge, little exchanges that built up a familiarity between them with a foundation of pebbles, not boulders. 

In the odd moment of quiet observation, Chris has had the brief thought that Darren could be a person he'd actually like to get to know... but it's intimidating in ways he's not ready to speak yet so he lets the thought die where it’s born. 

He's just not ready yet. 

* 

After another week, there's a sign hanging by the front door and a bigger one closer to the road. 

The rooms have been painted one at a time, the cat room first so it had the most time to dry and air out before the cats were moved back in. The visitation rooms get two easy chairs each and a bench. That once empty supply closet is suddenly teeming with emergency supplies. The kennels in back have huge padded beds that will wash easily in the washer and dryer that join the kitchen appliances, for lack of anywhere else to put them. A lot of the manual labor is done by delivery men but Chris and Darren do their share, along with the new hire who seems to just be getting her footing but is ready to jump in eagerly. 

Chris actually had a bout of anxiety at seeing her resume. Her name is Jenna and she's qualified for the job in a way he's certainly not, a vet tech in training with shelter experience. But Darren still consults with Chris first on everything, talks to Chris like he's in charge. Jenna follows Darren's lead on that without complaint and Chris comes to enjoy having her around... especially when he realizes he can delegate things like changing the litter boxes to her. 

* 

By far the most fun day of the job is when the first few dogs arrive. In a bid to avoid complete chaos, Darren arranged for them to come in pairs or groups of three. 

Darren's enthusiasm for the naming process becomes obvious. "Oh my god," Chris laughs. "You really did name all of the cats that came in that first day, didn't you." 

Darren beams at him. "Maybe I did. I mean, Pumpernickel Poundcake there isn't complaining." 

Chris looks down at the reddish orange droopy face of the mutt in his lap. "I'm so sorry this is happening to you." The dog licks his fingers. "So who is that one, then?" 

"Mocha Coconut." Darren barely gives it any thought. 

"Are you just hungry now?" 

"... maybe. But, come on. She's brown and that spot totally looks like a coconut." 

"It's white." 

"So, the inside of a coconut." 

"You're so dumb." Chris laughs fondly. 

Maybe the job isn't the only reason things seem not quite so bad lately. Maybe it's that he's making a new friend, too. 

*

Darren doesn't accept enough animals to bring them to capacity, wanting to have a few spaces open for emergency cases, but by two days out from the official open the place feels bustling. 

In addition to Jenna, they've got three volunteers that alternate afternoons walking and exercising the dogs, an arrangement with a local clinic for vet that will each be in once a week or as-needed to assess new animals, and a trainer who cuts his rates in half to work with shelter dogs. 

And Chris is the boss of all of them. It doesn't really hit him as a permanent situation until the last pre-opening day, when Darren waits until everyone else has left then drops an envelope onto his desk. "You've been a fucking lifesaver," he says. 

"What-" Chris turns the envelope over, staring at it. "What is this? My check?" 

Until now Darren’s been giving him cash but since payroll is officially a thing they have in operation, he’d known to be expecting a check soon. 

There’s still something different and almost magical about seeing it, though. His first full paycheck at his new job - in what feels like a new life. 

"Yeah," Darren says. "We'll have direct deposit set up next week, by the way. But this worked out since I wanted to make sure you got a little bonus first." 

Remembering his mother's opinions on the etiquette of opening monetary gifts in front of people, he saves it for later that night. 

When he does open it, he actually shouts. Lauren comes running in from the kitchen, alarmed. 

"Oh my god." Chris shoves the check at her. 

"Holy..." Lauren's draw drops. "Dude, that's-" 

"Exactly a thousand dollars more than I was expecting." 

"Did you give him blowjobs along with his morning coffee or something?" 

"Okay, first of all, I'm not his secretary, I don't get him coffee. And - no, of course not! It's a bonus," Chris says. "That's what he said. For how helpful I've been." 

Lauren beams at him. "You deserve it, C. You've been working your ass off." 

"I don't even mind," Chris admits. "I enjoy it." 

"I'm so fucking happy for you." She throws her arms around him and gives him a huge kiss on the cheek. "Seriously. You deserve it." 

*

Chris realizes it was a mistake to bring Lauren in the minute he hears her voice disappear into a squeal that probably only the dogs can actually hear. 

Half an hour later, it's official: Lauren's in love. 

"I'm taking this one home," she declares. 

He's not at all surprised to see her holding the Chiweenie mix with the underbite that came in that day. 

Chris thinks she's joking, but two hours later she has yet to actually put him down and he has to admit defeat. "He still needs his shots and a vet check," he reminds her. 

Her bottom lip wobbles. "But you won't let anyone else get him?" 

"We totally won't," Darren promises, popping his head around the corner. He gives Chris a big grin. "I mean, provided you'll give him a great home?" 

"I swear!" Lauren looks like a kid at Christmas. "He can sleep on the bed with me." 

"You'll need those little doggie steps if your bed is very high," Darren says, reaching out and tugging one of the puppy's tiny little legs.

"Ohmygod that just makes it even better."

"You are ridiculous. that is ridiculous." Chris tries to take the dog back but Lauren steps away from him, curling her arms protectively. 

"Well," Lauren glares at him, kissing the dog's head. "Fine, I have a great couch he can sleep on." 

Chris gives her an affronted look. "I am _hurt_." 

Darren is just giving them both an amused look, eyes wandering back and forth between them. 

"I am without fucks to give," Lauren says, though still using the baby voice she's been speaking in while she coos at the dog. She looks back up at Darren again, though, giving him a different kind of appraising look. "And you would be... the dashing boss Chris has told me absolutely nothing about?" 

"Dashing?" Darren steps into the room more fully. "Aw, he's understating it. Personally I'd go with 'charismatic, generous, and completely drop dead gorgeous' boss." 

"You got one of those words right. I mean, I'm sure 'and' was in his description..." Lauren is still dancing in place with the dog. Darren reaches out again to pet it, the movement taking him closer to her. 

Chris realizes with a sudden curdling sensation in his stomach that Lauren and Darren are flirting. 

That they're flirting isn't really that much of a surprise. Lauren is single and attractive, and so is Darren as far as Chris knows. 

What's startling is how much he doesn't like it. 

*

Lauren leaves a few minutes later, needing to go home before he shift at work. Chris hugs her goodbye and goes back to the desk, where he's been working on building up a social media presence and uploading new pictures of all the dogs into photo albums. 

"So, she's cool." 

"Shit." Chris jumps, spinning around in his chair. "You scared me." 

"Sorry, sorry." Darren perches on the desk. "She's your roommate?" 

"Uh, temporarily," Chris says. "Actually, very temporarily. I'm looking at new places this weekend." 

"Oh." Darren looks surprised. 

"It was only ever temporary. I'm actually... uh, I broke up, like - two months ago. My boyfriend and I..." Chris has no idea why he's so flustered to be answering this but he forces himself to slow down and breathe and start over. "I had a bad break up a couple months ago and moved out of my boyfriend's house. Lauren let me crash on her couch until I saved up enough to get a new place. And, thanks to you... and your bonus, by the way, thank you again... I actually have enough now." 

"That's awesome." Darren does that wide-open smile that creases his eyes. "If you end up short for any more, just let me know. We can work something out." 

"Like a check advance?" Chris asks. 

"Something like that," Darren says. 

"I don't think I'll need to, but thank you for the offer. That's good to know in any case." Chris does find it comforting. Anything to not have to ask Jackson, or - God forbid - his parents to bail him out. "It sounds like Lauren won't have an empty couch for long, though. Are you sure she didn't actually smuggle that dog out, have you checked?" 

Darren laughs. "I didn't check. But it's cool, I'm glad. I mean, that's the goal, right? Happy home for every pup." 

"As long as it isn't your home." Chris slides open a drawer and pulls out a pack of Darren's allergy pills, left with Chris for safe keeping after Darren forgot them at home for the third time. "You really shouldn't have petted him." 

"Thanks." Darren reaches over Chris and grabs the water bottle Chris had been drinking out of, swigging from it to wash the pill down. He puts it back and then squeezes Chris's shoulder with his hand. "I seriously can't even remember what I did without you." 

*

"So, he's single, right?" Lauren asks. "And straight?" 

Subtlety has never been her strong suit. Chris knows this about her. He loves her for it mostly, and occasionally despite it. 

"As far as I know," Chris says. "On both accounts." 

"And you wouldn't mind...?" She looks at him again and he can see the nerves. "I mean, it wouldn't be weird?" 

"No," Chris forces himself to say. He's not ready to analyze why it sits so heavily on his tongue and tastes so bitter, but what else is there to do but tell her what she wants to hear?

For all that he knows, Darren is single and is straight. He's not offering to play wingman, but she's not asking for that, either. 

He likes Darren, and he thinks Darren's a nice guy. He loves Lauren and he wants her to have a nice guy. 

That's all there is to it, he tells himself. 

* 

He finds an apartment four days later. It's a two-bedroom straddling the line of a bad neighborhood but his window overlooks a little park, and it's only a couple miles away from the animal shelter. He'll be able to bike it in good weather, and it's perfect for taking Cooper on long walks. 

He still hasn't talked to Jackson. As much as he wants his dog back, the idea of talking to his ex is still slightly nauseating. He decides there's no point until he's moved in and settled, anyway. 

Breaking the news to Lauren is mostly a happy affair. She whines a little about how much she'll miss late night reality tv and pizza binges, but he also knows she'll be happy to have her place back to herself. 

She'll definitely be happy to not have to deal with the litter box. She tells him that frequently and with great relish. 

Darren's happy for him, too. When Chris tells him, the first words out of his mouth are, "Sweet! Do you need help moving?" 

Chris is tempted to say no just to avoid putting Darren and Lauren in the same place again, but since he has to get his furniture out of storage the truth is that he actually does need the help. The decision is even more cemented when Darren says his roommate has a truck they can borrow. Lauren owns a Mini Cooper and Chris's sedan is fine for boxes but no help with the furniture, so Darren's offer saves him the expense of renting something 

He tries not to hate how Lauren's face lights up when he tells her that Darren's going to come over around ten on Saturday morning to help them get started. 

*

They're all a sweaty, exhausted mess by the time the last chair is in place. 

Chris doesn't have much. The stuff he took that Jackson didn't fight him for: a sofa, a dining table and four chairs, Chris’s grandmother’s desk, the tv stand and tv that had been in their bedroom. But even those few things are a pain in the ass to cart up two flights of stairs, especially combined with all the boxes of clothes and books and hastily packed away memories. 

"Do you need help getting anything out?" Darren asks, once they're done. 

"Nah." He's not looking forward to unpacking. He knows it'll probably involve some ugly tears and a lot of sorting through the past and figuring out what's even worth keeping. It's a process better undergone by himself, no matter how long it takes. "But I am going to feed you guys as a thanks for helping out." 

"No way," Darren says. 

At the same time, Lauren says, "FOOD!" 

They laugh together, side by side on Chris's couch. Chris turns his eyes away from the sight they make. They'll be a cute couple, he thinks, allowing the bitterness to reign for just a moment before tucking it back away. 

*

It's probably, he tells himself, just that he's fresh out of a relationship and wants his friends to stay single, too. 

He ignores the fact that he's been out of the relationship for over two months now. 

He ignores the fact that Lauren never held it against Chris when she was single and he wasn't. 

He ignores the fact that Darren might not even consider them friends. 

Darren seems to have an active life. He's always rushing off one place or another. Chris never knows if they're dates or gigs ("I play some guitar, sing a little.") or family functions. He doesn't usually ask, just lets Darren come back the next day with stories. There are some names that pop up repeatedly and some that don't. 

So yeah, Darren's the type of guy that is surrounded by people in his life that care about him, and probably always has been. It almost embarrasses Chris to realize that Darren has become one of his best friends while he's probably not anything to Darren. 

*

He expects Lauren to come back and tell him when she actually goes out with Darren, or Darren to mention it - but neither do. One week stretches into the edge of another and Chris's confusion blossoms into something he can't ignore. 

But he can't just ask so he waits until the next time he and Lauren meet to resume the regular Sunday morning brunch date they'd had before he became her impromptu houseguest. 

"So, you and Darren...?" Chris asks. "You looked cozy last week helping me move, what happened?"

"Oh!" She shrugs, shoulders set in that way that projects false bravado. "He shot me down." 

"Really?" Despite being upset by the idea of them dating, Chris's best friend instinct rears up hard and he scowls. "What a dick." 

"Not really," Lauren says. "I mean, he was nice about it. And we did exchange numbers, he said he'd love to hang out some time, but just as friends. I haven't texted him, though. I think it'd be weird without you around." 

"So he didn't even say why?" Chris asks, knowing he's pushing the limits of how curious he can seem before Lauren picks up on ulterior motives.

"Yeah, he actually said he's into someone else." 

"What?" Chris frowns. "He hasn't mentioned anyone at work." 

"Judging by how he worded it, I don't think it's anything official yet," Lauren explains. "He just said there's someone else he's interested in and he's not really sure if he's ready to give up on that just yet." 

"Oh." Chris opens his mouth to say something else, then closes it again. Lauren's giving him a little bit of a look and he's afraid she's going to ask him something else, but the waitress comes to refill their mimosas and he's saved the inquisition. 

*

Chris gets to work twenty minutes early and then slips into the back room to make the call. 

Jackson answers on the third ring. "Chris?" He sounds concerned, immediately, and the voice - the tone and the timber of it - go straight to Chris's gut in the most unpleasant way. "Is everything okay?" 

"Yeah, I just - wanted to talk. If you have a minute? It won't take long," Chris adds. 

"Chris..." Jackson sighs. "I'm not sure talking is a good idea." 

That patronizing tone brings the spark back to Chris, the anger and indignation that serve in place of actual bravery. "I'm not sure I trust your judgement on good and bad ideas," Chris snaps back. 

Jackson is surprised into silence momentarily. "Okay. Well, what did you want to talk about?" 

"I want Cooper," Chris says. He hadn't planned on blurting it out so quickly but right now the last thing he feels like doing is making small talk with his ex. 

"I thought you didn't have room for him," Jackson says. 

"I'm not living with Lauren anymore," Chris says. "I'm in a split level townhouse right now, and it has a yard so it'll be perfect for him." 

"Alone in a house all day?" Jackson sounds dubious. "I can afford to pay a dog walker to come midday, Chris. I know you miss him, but let’s just think of what's best for him. You can come for a visit sometime if you want." 

Had he always been such a condescending jackass?

"And I have a job that would let me bring him to work," Chris spits back. His voice is tight but he keeps his temper reigned in. "I work at an animal shelter now. So if we're talking what's best for Cooper, then I think being able to go with me to work every day and getting lots of socialization is surely best, right?" 

Jackson doesn't seem to have much of a response to that. "We made an agreement when we broke up. You took that cat, and I took Cooper." 

"You know the only reason I agreed to that-" Chris starts to argue. 

Jackson cuts him off. "I have to go to work, Chris. This discussion is over." 

And he hangs up. 

He fucking _hangs up_.

Chris stares at his phone in disbelief, the barely two minute time stamp mocking him. 

"Hey, Chris?" Darren swings around the doorframe, stopping short when he actually sees Chris. "Whoa, you okay?" 

"No." Chris puts his phone on the counter and closes his eyes. The anger shatters in a moment and he's left with an awful feeling of certainty that he's not going to get Cooper back. His eyes start to burn with tears that he swallows hard against. "I miss my dog." 

If Darren thinks it's a non-sequitur, he doesn't let on. He just frowns sympathetically and waits for Chris to go on. 

"That was my ex." Chris explains, trying to take steadying breaths. The last thing he wants is to cry in front of Darren. "When we split up, he took the dog and I took the cat. But it was only because I didn't have room for him in Lauren's apartment. Cooper's a golden we rescued last year. Jackson doesn't even - he's not even home half the time. He pays someone to watch Cooper. But apparently it's worth it for him to keep doing that if it fucks me over." 

Darren reaches out and squeezes sympathetically at Chris's shoulder. "That fucking blows." 

"I thought maybe he'd - I don't know. I guess I was just hoping he wouldn't put up a fight. Or maybe he'd have realized how much work a dog is, and be tired of it. But he said no." Chris's voice breaks. "I just miss my dog." 

"Hey, c'mere." Darren draws him in, cautiously like he's giving Chris time to back away if he doesn't want the hug. Chris leans in though, arms going around Darren as tightly as he dares. 

Chris hasn't been hugged in a long time. It's a good hug, the pressure of Darren's grip firm and welcome. He lets his face press briefly against Darren's neck, breathing him in - and oh, that's a distraction, but not entirely a welcome one. Because Darren smells nice and Chris could stay here drawing comfort from this for longer than is reasonable. 

That's what makes him pull away. Darren's slow to let him go, though, eyes big and soft and sympathetic. 

"You know," Darren says. "I hope this doesn't sound like I'm saying dogs are replaceable, but you could always adopt one of our guys from the shelter, if you really miss having a dog?" 

Even Darren's sincerity isn't enough to soften the sting he feels at the thought of a dog that isn't Cooper. He shakes his head with a sigh. "I'm not quite there yet." 

"Well, if there's anything I can do..." Darren lets the sentiment linger.

Chris can think of half a dozen things Darren could do to make him feel better, but nothing he’s willing to ask for. 

*

"How's the place looking?" Darren asks. 

It's a Wednesday morning and they're giving a Great Dane puppy a bath. Normally one person can handle the bathing process, especially for a puppy, but this 'puppy' is full of energy and weighs 40 lbs, so it's a two-person job. 

Chris cringes. "Not great. I mean, the place itself is fine, but I kind of - I still haven't unpacked." 

"Why not?" Darren asks, soaping Minnie up behind her ears. 

"It's just..." He sighs so deeply that even Minnie pauses to tilt her giant head up at him. "All the stuff I had was from the house I shared with - with my ex." 

"Ouch." Darren winces. "Okay, I see your problem. But it's gotta be depressing sitting around in an empty apartment. Hey, I know - let me take you shopping this weekend." 

"Shopping?" Chris asks. 

"Yeah! It'll be fun. We can do like, thrift stores and antique places and shit, get you some things that really go with your personality." 

Chris lifts an eyebrow. "You think of my personality and antiques are the first thing that come to mind?" 

"Totally." Darren grins at him. "You've got this whole sarcastic dry sense of humor, makes me think of Maggie Smith." 

"McGonagall herself?" Chris asks, then hopes the reference isn't too embarrassing. Anyone their age is going to have more than a passing familiarity with Harry Potter, but he's not so sure Darren was the type of kid to collect all the books and see the movies dressed up in robes and stalk the actors online. 

"More like Sister Act," Darren says. "Mixed with some Downton Abbey when someone is pissing you off." 

"I'm not sure if I'm flattered or insulted." 

"Hey, I'd bang Maggie Smith." Darren winks at him. 

"That doesn't actually make it less confusing." Chris is grinning, though, cheeks pleasantly warmed by this kind of effortless interaction - maybe even flirtation. "I've never actually decorated a place by myself. I lived with a friend before I moved in with Jackson, but back then I was new to Los Angeles and we were both broke." 

"Was it Lauren?" Darren asks. 

Chris shakes his head. "Her name was Ashley. She was my best friend when I first came to town. She moved to New York so we don't get to hang out often. I miss her." 

"It's kind of a bummer how people just come and go from your life like that," Darren says. "A lot of my friends stayed back in Chicago, keeping the whole theater dream alive." 

"You're from Chicago?" Chris asks. He's never heard Darren mention it, but Darren's life seems jam packed with more experiences than his years should allow. 

"Nah. I lived there for like a year after college. Went to school for acting and theater, but I only ended up with a couple roles on tv... and it just didn't gel with me, you know? Didn't feel right. I ended up bouncing around everywhere. Spend a little time in Italy, a little time in Chicago, a little time in New York. Then I ended up back home. It felt so shitty, going to my parents and saying hey, look, I spent all this money of yours because you gave me the freedom to do what I want, and I still don't fucking know." 

"Do you know now?" Chris asks. 

Darren shrugs. "I guess? I mean, this feels productive, at least. It's cool that I get to do something with my time that puts a little good back into the world. But I miss performing." 

"You could still perform," Chris says. "There's plenty of regional theater around here." 

"Yeah, but I'd feel like a dick taking roles from someone who was trying to do it as a career or something." 

"Then why not do the charity thing, but in the entertainment industry?" Chris asks. 

Darren laughs. "Because it's my parents money. I mean, maybe if this place is a success, if I can prove to them I won't fuck it up or flake off. This place was already in the works when I landed home, though." 

"Well, I think you're doing a great job." Chris gives him a reassuring smile. 

"Because of you," Darren points out. "I don't know if you even realize how fucking lost I was that first day." 

Chris laughs. "You just needed some allergy medicine." 

"No, I needed someone to make me feel like the whole thing wasn't gonna tank, and you appeared like an angel from the skies." 

"That's not melodramatic or anything." 

"Fine, you walked in the door like a very confused man, but still. You saved my ass. So let me help you... by uh, escorting you around the finest secondhand shopping this great city has to offer." 

This is the worst move he could possibly make in terms of handling his fledgling crush, but he can't bring himself to say no. 

*

Darren picks him up. 

"Aren't you terrified the shelter will spontaneously combust with both of us out for the entire day?" Chris asks. 

"Neither of us were there a couple weeks ago when we moved you in," Darren points out. "Besides, Jenna's not complaining about the weekend pay and those kids are getting school credit for it." 

"Sure." Chris is dubious. "Or maybe we could just stop in this afternoon, just to be sure." 

"No way!" Darren shakes his head. "Come on, This is our day off. Besides, you don't actually think I do anything there while you're not around, do you?" 

It's mostly a joke. Darren is the most hands off of everyone when it comes to working with the cats, for obvious reasons, but he jumps in there alongside the volunteers and Chris and Jenna, always happy to help take some puppies for a walk or play ball with them. So far he's been the one meeting with the behaviorist, though he's had Chris come back with him the last few times. Chris assumes eventually Darren will start letting Chris handle some of them on their own, too. 

He finds it really rewarding how Darren hands him responsibility without looking for Chris to fail. He's had so many years of working on his own, behind his own boss, and before that his jobs were all menial. He never did more than fetch clothes from the back at the dryer cleaner or scoop cookie dough onto sheets in the morning before school. 

"You're lost in thought, there." Darren taps him on the arm, fingers dancing down Chris's skin ticklishly. It's a weird way to get his attention, but somehow coming from Darren it seems less strange. 

"It's nothing," Chris says. "Sorry. So, where's the first stop?" 

*

The first stop turns out to be, as promised, a secondhand store. Throughout the course of the morning Chris picks up a coffee table, a nightstand, two vases, and a creepy Pinocchio doll that Chris swears he will never actually display anywhere but Darren insists on. 

"It's like a mini you!" Darren is still insisting as they walk into a little sandwich shop for lunch. 

Chris isn't sure how long Darren's planning on hanging out with him today, but it's nice to just relax and not worry about it. 

The afternoon is lazier, stopping for ice cream and then coffee later on. He manages to find a couple more things - a large glass-doored cabinet that'll look good in the living room and a bookshelf. The idea that none of it has to match is almost a revelation after Jackson's very magazine-spread type of decor. 

He has to stop himself from saying that out loud. He knows this is just friends hanging out but he can't help but think it might be bad form to talk about his ex with someone that he's no longer able to deny being interested in. 

They part ways just before dinner, Darren almost apologetic over having to go meet his parents. Darren helps him bring the things that aren't being delivered back up to his apartment and hugs him goodbye at the door. 

The hug lingers just enough, just enough for Chris to be left with something warm settled in his chest as he closes the door. 

*

He calls Lauren that night. 

"How do you know if what you're feeling is rebound or real?" he asks her. 

"Ooh, Chrissy got a crush?" She taunts him in the required manner but doesn't try to draw it out. "I don't know. I guess if it's a rebound it'll be out of your system pretty fast. Did you fuck them?" 

"No," Chris says. "It's not like that, really." 

“Then what is it like?” 

“It’s just…” he sighs. “A guy I know who makes me laugh and makes me think and sometimes makes me want to drop to my knees and beg to suck him off.” 

 

“And I’m guessing since you haven’t yet, this is someone you actually care about, too? Come on, Chris. I remember you before Jackson. You weren’t that shy.” 

“I’m just out of practice,” he tries to argue. 

“Bullshit.” Her words are harsh but her tone goes soft and encouraging. “Take a chance. What’s the worst that can happen?” 

“We fall in love, move in together, adopt pets together, then he cheats on me and I’m left alone and broke?” 

“... besides that, okay, because that’s not gonna happen twice.” 

“You don’t know that.” 

“I do. I’m a psychic. So suck on that. Honestly, give me one reaosn not to try.” 

Because he’s my boss. Because I need this job. Because I still don’t know if he’s even into guys. “Because he might say no.” 

“Well,” Lauren says. “That’s a bad reason.” 

*

Chris spends the next day blissfully alone, bolstered by the shopping spree to finish out his apartment. For three hours he sits on his living room floor with pictures going into newly repainted frames. Jackson hadn’t been quite the creative type, and over the years Chris let his love for making things fade along with so much else. It’s not like Jackson ever forced him to stop but Chris wanted to be doing the things they could enjoy together. He doesn’t know if he regrets that now, but he’s not sure he’ll be so open in future relationships. He can’t imagine giving himself over so much to anyone else. 

(But Darren doesn’t seem like the type who would want him to, either, his traitorous mind supplies. Darren loves the weird things that make people different.) 

At the end of the day his bookshelf holds the things he thinks will most feel like home to come to at the end of the day; photos of his sister and his parents, one of Cooper and Brian. There are copies of his books in all the languages they've been translated into and a row of his favorite novels. 

He ends up with a pile sorted into things he'll put back in storage, memories he might want again one day, and another that he'll donate. Those books Jackson bought with or for him, knick knacks he took from the house because he knew he could but now doesn't really want to have around. Unpacking the rest of clothing is a similar ordeal; he keeps some things but gets rid of items that were gifts or just have too many memories attached. When winter rolls around he'll go shopping again, maybe take Lauren this time, and replace what he's getting rid of now. 

The apartment is still a little bare, but it no longer looks like a home in limbo waiting to be lived in. 

*

The next day, he asks Darren if he wants to get lunch. 

It takes nerves and a little bit of recklessness, but it's worth it for how Darren's face lights up at the invite. 

Just like that, a new routine begins to take shape, one where Chris and Darren spend time together outside of the shelter. 

It could be a normal friendship, except that they take turns paying and when they sit together in a coffee shop or a restaurant they take the seats closest to each other and lean in. It could just be two co-workers getting along, except that sometimes dinner leads to dessert and they walk back home instead of taking a taxi their separate ways, and once they sit on the stoop outside of Chris's building for two hours just talking long into the night. 

It could be friendship, but it feels an awful lot like the start of something more. 

*

"It's a crush," he admits to Lauren on the phone. "But I think... I think he feels the same way." 

There's a long pause. "I'm happy for you," she says. "And him, too." 

Chris realizes when from the gentle but sincere way she says it that she must know exactly who he's talking about. 

*

Chris finds himself not in a hurry to leave work most nights. If they've had multiple visits and adoptions go through, or it's been a busy vet day, he'll often stay until six or seven before heading out. It overlaps with the employee they've hired to stay overnight just to keep an eye on things, but he doesn't mind. 

It helps that sometimes Darren's there, or he'll swing back by and offer to go get or order dinner in for Chris and Harry. Or sometimes he'll just ask Chris if he wants to go get dinner... 

But tonight Darren has other plans and Chris really has just stayed late to work. It's just past nightfall when he steps outside, shouting to Harry that he's locking up. Their office area will stay closed until they open again in the morning. 

Chris hears the whining just as he finishes setting the alarm. He turns, confused when he doesn't see anything. The whine comes again and he spots a box just off to the side, where their parking area starts. 

He walks over and his heart drops when he sees what's in it. It's a dog, and one who’s obviously been hurt. "Hey, hey, buddy." He kneels down and holds a hand out, letting the dog sniff it. The dog is white, mid-sized with matted fur that looks more yellow under the dirt and lamplight. 

It doesn't seem aggressive so Chris starts to pet it gently, keeping his touch limited to the face in case it has internal injuries. 

He grabs his phone, calling Darren first. He gets Darren’s voicemail. "Hey - someone just dropped a dog off. She's in bad shape- Darren, they left her in a fucking box in the parking lot. Someone could have-" 

He stops, too choked up. 

He calls Jenna next. She answers on the fourth ring and says she'll be to the shelter in twenty minutes. Harry helps him bring the box inside, not wanting to lift her. She barely stirs until they're inside, whining a little when she's jarred by them putting the box on the exam table. 

Harry waits around with him, but Jenna shows up more quickly than she'd predicted. 

"Oh, you sweetheart," she says, beginning to do a quick exam. "Let’s get you out of this box." 

"Oh, this sweet girl..." Jenna sighs. "It looks like she's been chained up somewhere. The skin around her neck is rubbed raw and infected. She's got a broken leg and a flea and tick infestation. She'll probably need a worming, too, some blood tests... I can set her up with that in the morning." 

"What about tonight?" 

Jenna frowns. "I don't know how much I want to put her through right now. I can can set her leg just so she won't make it worse, but she'll need x-rays in the morning. Someone should still probably stay with her to make sure she isn't too active tonight." 

"I will," Chris says. 

Harry's been leaning against the door, listening in. "I'll be here, man, you don't have to do that." 

"No, I don't mind," Chris says. "I found her, I would feel bad leaving her." 

"Okay. Call me if anything happens." Jenna says. 

*

Chris has been there for an hour when Darren calls. He fills Darren in quickly. "She's perked up a little since Jenna set her leg. She's tried to walk a couple of times, but it hurts." 

Right now she's laying with her head on Chris's lap. His butt's gone numb from the hard linoleum floor but he doesn't want to disturb her napping. 

"You're still there?" Darren asks. 

"Yeah. It's fine, I'll just go home in the morning and catch a little sleep." 

"You shouldn't have to sit there alone." 

"Harry's around, it's fine," Chris says. And he is - technically - but he tends to spend his night making his hourly rounds to check on everyone and doing homework. He's a student like Jenna, but still an undergrad. He takes afternoon and evening classes then spends his work shift doing homework so he can go sleep in the mornings. "He can't spend all night with her, and I don't want to leave her." 

Darren doesn't push him on it, and Chris realizes why half an hour later when Darren walks in with a gigantic fountain drink cup filled with Diet Coke and a bag of snacks to get them through the night. 

* 

"She needs a name," Darren says. 

They're sitting side by side, the dog settled between them. She's not sleeping, just soaking in the affection they're both giving. It doesn't matter that she smells or that Chris can feel the dirt on his fingers. He'll deal with that. 

"Oh?" He looks at Darren expectantly. "Well, work your magic then." 

He shakes his head. "You saved her. You get to name her." 

"Um... wow, responsibility. I've never named a pet before." 

"Really? Don't you have a cat and a dog?" 

"Have a cat. Had a dog. But my cat Brian came named, I kept what the shelter called him. And Cooper was not my choice, just the name that I agreed to. Eventually." 

"What did you want to call him?" Darren asks. 

"Rumpelstiltskin," Chris says. "I love fairy tales. I wanted to give him a fairy tale name." 

Darren laughs, but it doesn't feel like the same laughter Chris heard the first time he told Jackson that. "Nothing wrong with that. It's unique! I like it. So does she look like a Rumple to you?" 

"Not really." Chris shakes his head. "She's..." 

Sweet, with big, wise eyes. Strong, to have lived through whatever she's been through, with a kind nature. 

"Yeah?" Darren waits. 

"Goose," Chris says. "Like Mother Goose." 

Darren grins. "It fits." 

"Really?" Chris isn't sure why he'd been expecting an argument. He looks down at the dog again, stroking over her cheek. Her tongue darts out to lick at his fingertips. "Okay, Goose. You officially have a name now." 

*

The night seems to stretch endlessly, and fly by at the same time. 

They make sure to keep food and water within reach and take her out around three in the morning to see if she needs to use the bathroom. She hobbles around but seems terrified of the other dogs who all bark in excitement at the sight of Chris and Darren. 

The little jaunt seems to exhaust what little amount of energy she'd had. She sleeps then until daybreak, when Jenna shows back up to take her to the vet. 

*

They're both too drowsy for conversation at breakfast. They sit side by side at a coffee shop, drinks almost untouched in front of them. 

A few minutes in, Darren's head starts to slump toward Chris's shoulders. 

"Hey," Chris says. 

Darren jerks upright. "Shit." He jams the heels of his hands against his eyes and rubs. 

"My place is like ten minutes away," he says. "Let's get some sleep." 

"Fucking please." Darren groans and pushes back from the table, getting to his feet. 

* 

Looking back, he has no idea why it doesn't occur to him to offer Darren the couch. He also has no idea why Darren doesn't off to take it, except that they’re both exhausted and _bed_ is literally the only thing on Chris’s mind as soon as he’s stepping foot inside the house. 

Neither of them speak as Darren follows Chris back to the bedroom. They both kick off their shoes and Chris takes off the button up he's wearing and his jeans, making a face at the smell of wet dog. 

"You mind...?" Darren asks, waiting for Chris to shake his head before stripping down in a similar fashion. 

"Are we doing this camp style?" Darren asks, a yawn breaking the last word. 

"What?" 

"Like, one on top of the covers, one under?" 

Chris squints at him. "That sounds stupid." 

Darren laughs. "Cool." He gets in on the other side of the bed, groaning as soon as his head hits the pillow. "I fucking love your bed." 

"Mm." Chris is already half asleep, eyes heavy. "Me, too." 

* 

Chris sleeps for five hours, and when he wakes up he just feels - wrong. His limbs are heavy and everything is sluggish, like a nap that's lasted longer than it should have. His mouth feels fuzzy and his head throbs and he can't decide if he wants to get up and get something to drink and get his blood pumping, or if he just wants to go back to sleep. 

Then he hears the faint snoring beside him and memories of how he ended up in bed with his boss at half past one in the afternoon are suddenly crashing into him. 

Goose. He grabs his phone and checks for updates, remembering how Jenna promised to text him as soon as she knew something. 

There are no messages, so he's hoping that's a good sign. 

Darren still seems dead to the world, so Chris drags himself out of bed and into the shower. He hopes he can be dressed and decent before Darren wakes up, but apparently he's got no reason to worry about that. Darren gives no indication of being a light sleeper. 

* 

It's almost three before Darren comes out. "So, uh. My clothes smell like shit, can I borrow a shirt?" 

Chris is dressed and on his laptop, which he sets aside to get up and grab Darren a shirt. "Do you, um, need a ride home?" 

Darren looks faintly confused before nodding. "You can just drop me back off at the shelter." 

"I'll go in, too," Chris says. 

"No, man, you don't need to-" 

"I want to," Chris says. "I kind of want to check on Goose." 

"Yeah, me too. I kept having dreams about her," Darren admits. "Like, her being scared and lonely and stuff." 

"I'm sure Jenna's charmed her completely." Chris isn't entirely sure he likes the idea of that, though. 

"... you think?" Darren pouts a little. "What if she's forgotten about us totally?" 

She hasn't, though, because half an hour later when Chris and Darren walk into the room where she's being kept she lifts her head and her tail thumps. 

Jenna's followed them in just to give them an update on her situation. "She's completely doped up on painkillers, and we've also got her on antibiotics. If the infection doesn't show signs of getting better within the next couple of days we'll have to send her to the vet." 

Chris walks over to her and smooths down her soft, white fur. "You're gonna be just fine, aren't you, baby girl?" 

Darren strokes a hand along her back, but his eyes are on Chris. "You totally want her, don't you?" 

“I didn’t think I was ready to get another dog…” Chris says. “But I guess at this point there’s nothing I can do to make Jackson give Cooper up.” 

“So maybe she really is just want you need.” Darren bumps their shoulders together. 

“Maybe.” Chris gives him a guilty look. “So it would be okay if I did decide to adopt her?”

"Are you kidding? That'd be fucking amazing." Darren smiles at him, still arm to arm. "She fucking loves you.. But then again, who wouldn't?"

Chris feels his face heat, but he meets Darren's smile with one of his own. 

*

Darren brings the shirt he borrowed back to Chris a couple days later, tossing it across the desk at him. 

“I hope you washed it,” Chris shouts after him as Darren walks by on his way down the hall. 

Only then does he notice Jenna staring at him with an eyebrow lifted. 

“... what?” Chris challenges her, folding the shirt up and putting it into the messenger bag he brings to work with him. 

“Oh, nothing…” She says in a faux-innocent voice. “But - clothes sharing?” 

“He napped at my place after we were up all night-” He pauses just to see her expression. “- here, with Goose.” 

“Right…” She elongates the word. “Sure.” 

“Hey, it’s true,” Darren interjects. 

Chris is embarrassed then. He hadn’t realized Darren was coming back down the hall. 

“I mean,” Darren continues. “We all know Chris is too good for me.” 

“Well, that’s definitely not true,” Chris says, staring at Darren. He’s almost sure he must have misheard that, but the look on Jenna’s face tells him that he has definitely not. 

“And here’s where I gracefully bow out of this.” Jenna laughs. “I have some puppies to jab with needles.” 

“You enjoy that way too much,” Darren says to her. 

Chris is still staring at Darren, mulling over what he said. 

“Playing with needles? Maybe. Using them on the puppies? Not really,” Jenna says. “They whine and it’s so sad, but I know it’ll make them feel better in the long run.” 

Darren pats her on the shoulder as she walks away, then he turns and perches on Chris’s desk and looks down at him. 

“I’m too good for you?” Chris spins in his chair until his body is tilted toward Darren. “Really, really not true.” 

“You’re brilliant. You’re a published author. You’ve had like, real adult relationships that lasted more than six months. You’ve got it together.” Darren’s eyes are on the desk, lingering between them. The fact that he won’t look at Chris injects a sense of vulnerability into his words. 

“It doesn’t feel like that,” Chris answers ruefully. “But I am not sure if it ever really does. Not once you know how easy it is to be back at square one. So, no. I… definitely wouldn’t say I was too good for you.” 

“Well.” Darren finally looks at him, a little smile on his lips. “That’s definitely good to know.” 

*

"I think Darren's going to ask me out soon," Chris says. “Or at least - something’s going to give.” 

He’s taking Goose on a walk. It’s a very slow walk, given her injured leg, but she’s blossomed under a week of regular meals and medicine and a very thorough bath. She can’t wear a collar yet because of the injuries around her neck, but the harness Darren bought for her is perfect for walks. She wants to stop and sniff everything and Chris has no problem letting her, especially not when it gives him a few minutes of privacy to consult with Lauren. 

"Thank fucking God!" Lauren groans. "You two are insufferable. I thought I was going to have to kick his ass. Though I still might kick yours. Why the hell haven’t you asked him out already?” 

“Because…” Chris stops to think about it. “I don’t know. Because it’s been kind of exciting, just letting whatever happens - happen. And I’m afraid that either I’m wrong and he’s not that interested in me, or I’m right and if we try to be more than friends it won’t work.” 

“Do you think you’d lose him as a friend even if it went badly?” Lauren asks. “Is he that kind of guy?” 

“He wouldn’t be on purpose,” Chris says. “But it’s hard to be friends after you’ve dated and broken up.” 

“Well, I still think you’re overthinking this, Chris. I mean, he passed up this prime piece of womanhood just to wait around for you to get your shit together…” 

“You don’t even know if that was me he was talking about,” Chris points out. 

“Psychic, remember?” 

“Oh, fuck off.” Chris rolls his eyes. “I have to go.” 

*

They’re at dinner together. Something’s felt different all night, but Chris wasn’t willing to put his hopes into what it was until Darren takes his hand and speaks. 

"I feel like there's something here, right?" Darren asks, fingers resting warm on Chris’s. 

"Yes.” Chris can feel his heart pounding and his stomach flipping like he’s on a roller coaster. This is actually happening. “At least, I hope so. I’ve been hoping so.” 

Darren smiles so widely his eyes crinkle in the corners. “Good.” 

“So is this a date?” Chris asks. 

“It can be,” Darren says. “As long as you don’t judge my date planning abilities on this.” 

“While I have to admit some natural curiosity about these date planning abilities,” Chris says. He turns his hand over underneath Darren’s so that they’re palm to palm. “Trust me when I say I don’t need you to plan anything. I already have more fun when I’m out with you than I probably have in years.” 

“I’m glad to hear that.” 

“I don’t know how… fast I can go,” Chris says. He takes a breath. “Or how fast I want to go. Emotionally. But I like you a lot.” 

“That is all I need from you.” Darren slides their fingers together. 

“All you need?” Chris drops his voice lower, leaning in. 

“Well…” Darren leans in, too. “I wouldn’t be opposed to a goodnight kiss tonight.” 

*

They stumble through Chris’s front door an hour later. Chris’s hands are shoved underneath the back of Darren’s t-shirt while Darren tries to unbutton Chris’s. 

He hasn’t had sex in months. He hasn’t had sex with someone new for the first time in years. He’s excited in every way that counts. 

“So, slow emotionally,” Darren pulls back to say. “And, physically…” 

Chris reaches down and starts to undo Darren’s pants. “Physically, we both need to be naked right now.” 

“Because I’m fine waiting.” Darren still tries to insist. 

Chris shoves a hand down his pants and rubs his palm firmly against Darren’s dick. “You are such a nice guy. Now please let me see your dick.” 

Darren laughs and almost trips in his hurry to kick his shoes off. 

*

Chris hits the bed first, landing on his back in the middle of it. Darren’s above him, head bowed to press kisses along Chris’s jaw and down his neck. 

“You have stuff?” Darren asks. “I wanna suck you.” 

“I - shit.” Chris whines. “I have lube, but I haven’t - there hasn’t been anyone else since-” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Darren isn’t going to make him say it, and Chris is grateful for that. The truth is that he hasn’t even really thought of having sex with anyone, certainly not while he lived with Lauren and not even since having his own place. He’s been so caught up in the fantasy of Darren that he didn’t prepare for the reality of him in any of the practical ways. “I have one in my wallet, and I really want to suck you. You can jerk me or something. If I even fucking last this long. Fuck, I want you.” 

Chris groans. “I’m buying an economy sized box tomorrow.” 

Darren laughs and then he’s gone and Chris is whining until he remembers what Darren is going to get. The moment to breathe is almost nice but nicer still for how brief it is. When Darren’s back he’s quick to work, getting the condom on Chris and then dropping his mouth down low. 

It’s a _good_ blow job, wet and enthusiastic and the latex between them doesn’t really matter, it still feels every bit as explosive when he pulses into it and fills the tip. Darren keeps sucking him through it and as soon as Chris has recovered he’s grabbing the lube and reaching for Darren. 

“Not gonna last long,” Darren warns him. 

Chris smirks. “You will if I want you to.” 

Darren _groans_. His eyes are wide and curls are matted to his forehead with sweat and maybe it’s a good thing they didn’t have longer to talk about sex, because apparently Darren likes it when people are bossy in bed and Chris is happy to have provided such a pleasant surprise. 

He can’t blow Darren so he gives him the slowest, most careful, most drawn out handjob he can. He strokes with varying speeds, squeezing around the tip, tugging at his balls and rubbing behind, doing everything in his power to make Darren a panting squirming mess underneath him before he finally speeds his hand up and jerks hard and fast. He swallows Darren’s moans with a kiss while Darren comes, laughing when he leans back and realizes it was so intense that there’s not even any mess on Chris’s hand, it’s all streaked up and down his chest, clinging to the chest hair. 

They’re just as giddy and giggly while they clean up as they were before they started. 

*

Darren's sitting at his table wearing borrowed pajama pants and the most adorable case of bedhead Chris has ever seen. They're doing that obnoxious new relationship thing where they keep staring, and catching each other staring, and grinning stupidly at each other. 

So of course that's when the phone rings, the display picture popping up to show absolutely the last face Chris wants to see right now. 

Chris almost doesn't answer it. His mouth drops open slightly in shock, though, and Darren sees it. His head tilts curiously. "Chris?" 

"It's - Jackson." Chris turns the phone slightly, like he needs to show proof. 

"Oh." Darren's just as surprised as he is. "You should see what he wants?" 

"Are you sure?" Chris asks. It's not like he needs Darren's permission to take a phone call, but right now not alienating his new boyfriend is more important than seeing what his old one wants. 

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure." Darren nods. "I'll even go grab a shower if you want, give you some privacy?" 

"No, stay," Chris says, then answers the phone because he knows it's in danger of going to voicemail if it rings many more times. "Hello?" 

"Chris..." Jackson says. "How are you?"

"What do you want?" Chris knows he's brusque to the point of actual rudeness, but he doesn't care. 

"It's like that, is it?" Jackson sighs. "Fine. I'm moving. I'll be in New York by the beginning of next month." 

"You're moving?" Chris asks, before the rest of Jackson's statement catches up to him. The beginning of the month is barely a week away. "That's so soon." 

"Yeah. Remember when we were talking about moving to New York?" He says. "I put in the paperwork for a transfer and I heard back. They want me, and it comes with a raise." 

"Congratulations," Chris says automatically. Jackson moving doesn't upset him, but he's still not sure exactly what this is. A courtesy call? Did Jackson think he'd care? "I assume congratulations are in order, at least." 

"Yeah. I mean, I'm happy about it. More money, and at the head office I have a lot better a chance of getting promoted up the chain quickly. But..." Jackson sighs, sounding genuinely distraught. "I can't take Cooper. So if you still want him..." 

Chris's eyes go wide and he looks at Darren in excitement, even though Darren doesn't have any idea exactly what Jackson just said. His expression turns even more quizzical when Chris waves a hand enthusiastically. 

"I'll take him, of course," Chris says. "Of course, of course I'll take him." 

Darren must work it out fairly quickly, because he gives Chris a huge smile. 

"Do you need me to come get him?" Chris asks. 

"Yeah, if you want - tomorrow, maybe? I want one more night with him." 

"Sure," Chris says. "I'll text you." 

*

Darren goes home later that afternoon, after a lengthy series of kisses by the door. His hands rest on Chris's waist and he gives Chris one of those stomach-flipping smiles. "So do I get to come meet the new addition soon?" 

"Of course." Chris leans in, noses brushing. "Tomorrow, maybe? Stay for dinner? I assume that's what you were hinting at." 

Darren bites his lip and grins. "Maybe." 

*

Chris isn't sure how he's going to feel about being back at his old house - their old house - until he's actually parked in the driveway. 

It looks the same from the outside. The kid that mows the lawn keeps it the same every year. The bushes have recently been pruned. Even the mailman must be the same, because there's a package on the doorstep. 

Jackson’s always paranoid people will steal the mail. Chris used to hate having to get up and answer the door every time UPS or Fed Ex dropped something off, but Jackson would fuss so much if he got home and it was still outside. The memories don't exactly make Chris smile, but they aren't as painful as they once were. He can't bring himself to really be upset about anything when he's about to get his dog back. 

Cooper's barking greets him before Jackson even opens the door, and he shoots out and jumps onto Chris, who grabs his collar instinctively to keep him from getting away. He's got good recall but he's still a dog and they've had issues once or twice in the past with him spotting something and taking off. 

"Hey, buddy!" Chris half drags and half wrestles him inside, Jackson shutting the door behind him. He drops to his knees to let the dog slobber all over his face happily. "Oh, yeah, did you miss Daddy?" 

"He did," Jackson says. To Chris's surprise, he's actually smiling when Chris looks up. "A lot. He's gonna love being back with you." 

"But he'll miss you," Chris says, feeling obligated though he also knows it's true. 

Jackson shrugs. "You know they always say the kids suffer worst in a divorce." 

Chris winces slightly, though it isn't his fault they ended up like this. 

But now looking back, even if Jackson hadn't cheated, he's not sure they had what it took. Maybe they were what each other needed at some point, but Chris understands now how much he was stifling himself to be what Jackson needed. 

He almost asks, then. He almost asks Jackson why he didn't just break up with Chris. Why did he cheat and draw this shitty situation out? But he looks at Jackson, at that face that was so familiar to him at one point, and he realizes that maybe he doesn't want to know. 

So all he says is, "Yeah. I guess that's true." 

Ten minutes later he's got Cooper's things loaded in his car and he's driving away. 

* 

Darren shows up a couple hours later. He's got Goose with him, after pointing out to Chris that Cooper might do better with a chance to sniff around the house before introducing him to his new sister. 

Cooper loves Darren, much to Chris's relief, and seems to view Goose as a new playmate. He's not really sure why he was worried. Cooper loves everyone, he's just that kind of dog. He and Goose take turns playing tug with Darren and a rope toy on the kitchen floor while Chris cooks. 

"So. How was it?" Darren asks, looking up at Chris. 

Just from his tone, Chris can tell that's a question Darren was debating even asking. It's a weird topic to dance around but Chris just shrugs and says, "Fine. I was only there for a few minutes." 

"Oh." Darren seems to relax at that. 

Chris sneaks his phone out a couple of times to take pictures of Darren sitting there with his back to a cabinet and a huge smile on his face. It's not exactly family portrait time yet, and he's not going to rush this, but he thinks they'll get there.

**Author's Note:**

> [Reblog on tumblr!](http://alittledizzy.tumblr.com/post/132748926505/fix-tomorrow-pairing-chrisdarren-rating-mature)


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